


six different ways inside my heart

by whythehair (tootiredmotel)



Series: klance one-shots [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, College AU, First Meetings, How Do I Tag, M/M, Meet-Cute, Oblivious Keith (Voltron), Others Mentioned - Freeform, Pining Lance (Voltron), coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 16:37:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18472867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tootiredmotel/pseuds/whythehair
Summary: a couple times Lance tried to approach Keith+ one time Keith approached Lance(and what it led to)Oh, this all takes place in one day





	six different ways inside my heart

**Author's Note:**

> wrote this because i was listening to six different ways by the cure in a coffee shop :)
> 
> sigh, so simple and boring. i hate this, but i cant just toss it bc its just practice i guess? maybe when im not as tired i'll rewrite this

 

Lance flipped through his physics textbook without really paying attention, too busy staring at the boy in the red hoodie whose nose was stuck in their own book. Allura rolled her eyes. It wasn't uncommon for Lance to develop a crush on a pretty girl or guy after seeing them once or twice. This particular guy, however, was different. 

 

Lance had accidentally bumped into him walking in, but the guy had earbuds in and was intently reading something on his phone, so he didn't even look up. Lance was even in line to order behind the guy, but the blonde girl at the counter didn't even ask his name, just wrote his order on the cup and set it aside. "Thanks Romy" he'd said, not even looking up, and found himself a seat at the bar. So the only information Lance ended up with was that the guy's a regular, and the barista's name is Romy? Though he could've simply looked at the tag on her apron for that. Lance had almost dropped his and Allura's drinks -blended caramel latte and a chamomile tea, respectively- because he was so concentrated on the cute guy at the bar reading a book and sipping whatever coffee he had gotten. 

 

"Laaaance..." Allura began snapping to get his attention. When it finally took, he looked disappointed to pull his eyes away from the boy in the red hoodie and black joggers. "Huh? Yeah?" 

 

"If you're not too busy making wedding plans, Hunk wants to know if we're down for bowling tonight. He says Pidge is going, but James can't tonight because he has to cram for his test." Lance nodded, not entirely paying attention. "Do you know how rare it is for a guy to be able to pull off a ponytail? I mean granted, there's not much of a tail there, but he's...he can like, get it." 

 

How should he approach this guy? He was reading when he came in, and was reading still. He could ask what he's reading? Yeah, he could give it a shot. But it needed to seem natural. Refill? Lance still had half a cup of his blended drink left, so that would seem...weird. 

 

"Hey, you need a refill?" 

 

Allura gave him a strange look. "No, I'm still working on mine." To be fair, they had sat down ten minutes ago, and the drinks were ready about five minutes ago. He could give her that. 

 

Screw it, time to step up as a wing-woman, 'Lura. 

 

"Another chamomile coming right up!" He grabbed the  _still very hot_   mug and panicked when he realized that the cup was still pretty much full. He panicked, and dumped the tea in the potted plant next to their table. 

 

"Hi, can I get another chamomile tea for my friend over there?" Lance offered a smile, taking in the barista's  _'what the hell'_  reaction, and also the pin on her apron. Maybe he could return the wing-man favor later. She's totally Allura's type, so maybe if they were both interested, it could lead somewhere? 

 

Instead of waiting at the table with Allura, he went to the bar where Red Hoodie sat, leaving one empty seat between them.  _This is it,_  he thought,  _either make a total fool of yourself, or leave with his number._  "Whatcha reading?" 

 

It's not like Lance expected an immediate answer with a follow up of an explanation of the book and excited recalling of the details or the guy's favorite character or anything, but he was at least hoping for  _some_  kind of response. The tea came out in front of him, and Red Hoodie shifted, showing Lance that, that's right, he still has earbuds in. He didn't hear him. 

 

Shoulders slumped in disappointment, Lance decided to take the tea back to Allura and formulate a foolproof plan that would allow him a conversation with the guy. Unfortunately, he was so caught up with foolproof, he forgot the tea was hot, and immediately dropped it. "Oh my-! Crap, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, do you have any napkins and I can clean this up-" The barista only laughed, citing that it was okay. "It happens all the time." 

 

"Really?" 

 

"No." 

 

They laughed again, and the girl called out to a coworker for help. "Keith, can you go get some more napkins from the back?" The sudden movement to Lance's right caused him to look in that direction, becauseRed Hoodie is  _Keith._   _Keith_  is Red Hoodie.  _Keith -_ honestly, Lance probably won't be able to stop saying his name that way for the rest of the day- left his book open with his phone and earbuds sat inside. The phone lit up with a text from someone, but it was the lock screen that grabbed his attention. The picture was of Keith with a big black and white Siberian husky, his arms around the big dog in his lap, like he was cuddling the dog. It was sweet, and Lance wanted to keep looking at the picture, to see it in person, but the screen went back to black. Keith came back with napkins and helped clean up the mess. 

 

Lance was convinced that once he was done, Keith would go back to his book and music like nothing happened, but instead he went behind the counter. "What was it, a chamomile tea?" Lance looked around for the barista, who happened to be missing. "Um, I don't think we're supposed to be back there." Keith smiled and began the tea making process. "My step-dad owns the place, so I think it's okay." 

 

He's Kol's kid? "You're Kol's kid?" 

 

Keith's eyebrows furrowed and it was accompanied by a small frown. "Like I said, step-dad. And I'm twenty."  _Ooo, same age. Ooo, what does it matter if you can't even flirt right?_

 

"Oh, yeah, me too. I'm- I mean I'm twenty. Yep. July twenty-eighth."  _Cringe._

 

"Uh, cool. October twenty-third."  _Oh, so they're both turning twenty-one soon-ish. Oh, that doesn't matter if you can't. flirt._

 

"What the-" Lance looked to where the missing barista exclaimed. She had a watering pot in one hand, and was examining the potted plant with a scrunched up face. "Oh, I think it's dying." She had said it so softly that Lance almost missed it. Lance turned back to see a new cup of tea waiting in front of him, and Keith sat back in his bar seat. Looks like he killed a plant for nothing. 

 

When he got back to the table, Allura was on her phone again. "Matt says he's bringing his 'astrology study buddy' tonight." 

 

The rest of their 'study session' turned into Lance rejecting his textbook in favor of trying to win Keith's attention. 

 

At one point, he ended up back at the bar waiting for a brownie to warm up. Truth be told he didn't even want the brownie, just an excuse to be up there. "I like your hoodie, what's it made of?"  _What's it made of? What're you expecting him to say, boyfriend material?_  "Um, cotton I think." 

 

Another time, Lance had gone up to get Allura a chocolate chip cookie that she wouldn't eat because she doesn't even like chocolate. "What'd the sushi say to the bee?" led to Keith deadpanned saying "sushi can't talk. neither can bees". When Lance got back to the table he was grumbling. "I hate him with his stupid 'oo I'm too good for pick-up lines, oo I'm so pretty, oo I smell so good'." Allura didn't even look up from her botany textbook. "I think somebody has a crush on somebody." 

"Hey, can we please focus on my thing right now? I need a way to grab his attention." 

"I'm talking about you, you big-" 

 

Keith had finally shut the book, and it looked like he had finished it, so Lance made another attempt. This time he ordered a cup of water. "You look like I could use some company."  _WHAT?!_

"What?" 

 

Lance was about ready to give up if this didn't work. "You like your book?" Keith actually looked up at him. "Yeah, I did. I mean the ending was alright, but it kinda sucked."  _Keep the conversation going._

 

"What's it called-slash-about?" Keith raised a single brow, probably because Lance said the word 'slash' out loud. "What If It's Us. It switches points of view between two characters and...I don't really know how to explain it?" 

 

"Oh, I think I heard of it actually." Keith didn't say anything, but his face seemed to read 'sure, and you're a great flirt too'. "No, really. I haven't read it yet because my roommate isn't done with it yet. He won't tell me anything, he says I have to read it and find out. Hey you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but how are you able to listen to music and still focus enough on the book to finish it?" 

 

"Oh, I wasn't actually listening to the music. I mean it was playing, but having something play like that helps me focus better than hearing something distant and in the background, if that makes sense." 

 

_Alright, time to be cool._ "Hey, I don''t think I caught your name. Mine's-" "Lance! We gotta go or we're gonna be late!" 

 

 

 

Needless to say, Lance was very much aggravated that when he was finally making headway with Keith, he was interrupted. He spent the entire car ride grumbling and moping. 

 

Hunk was ordering their group a pizza while Pidge set up their names in the machine. 

 

_Pidge_

_Hunk_

_Allura_

_Lance_

_Matt_

_K_____

 

"Hey, who's K? Is that Matt's friend?" Pidge only nodded, but hadn't completed the list of names, too distracted by a text from Matt. "They're here, coming inside now." 

 

Hunk came back with the pizza and Allura carried drinks, calling for Pidge's help. It left only Lance at the table, staring at the lone K. 

 

"Hey guys! This is Keith, he's in my astrology class. Don't let the nerdy boy look deceive you, he's actually an artist." Lance's head snapped up at the name, hoping it was the same one, and  _yes! Yes yes yes yes!_

 

_But also, no no no no._ Allura had told both Pidge and Hunk about his awkward encounters and attempts at flirting with Keith at the Castle Brew. Now they were gonna tease him  _mercilessly._

 

Keith spluttered at Matt's 'nerdy boy' claim. "If anyone's the nerd it's you, I- Lance?" 

 

"Hey man! What're the odds, huh?"  _yes Lance, what_ are _the odds? What are the odds you can get a decent pick-up line out and Keith's number? Surely decreasing every time you open your mouth._

 

"I didn't know you're friends with Matt. Cool."  _He said 'cool'. Heart eyes, motherf-_

         

 

 The first round kinda sucked for everyone, but soon enough the group's overall competitiveness took over, and Lance bragged about every strike. Keith, however, definitely sucked at bowling. With each time the ball drained, he'd slump his shoulders and pout. _Cute._

 

Pidge won. Keith finished last, proving that there was someone who sucked at bowling worse than Matt. 

 

At some point, they had split into teams for pool when they finished bowling. Hunk and Allura versus Pidge and Matt, so Lance and Keith sat across from the pool table, watching. 

 

"Wasabi."  _What what_ what _did you just do._ "What?"  _Fix it! Fixitfixitfixitfixit_

 

"What did the bee say-what did the sushi say to the bee?" 

 

Okay, so Keith didn't get it, _probably because you finished the joke before even starting it and messed it up, too,_ but he had an adorable little confused look on his face. 

 

"Um, you know what? I'm thinking it's time to change the song. I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little tired of hearing Loving Is Easy on repeat." 

 

"What's wrong with Rex County Orange?" Lance was prepared to say that 'nothing, nothing's wrong, but this song has played for the last-'

Lance was not prepared to see Keith smirking.  _He's teasing you! He's-it's! Flirt back!_

 

"They're no Weezer."  _It worked!_ Apparently it was the right thing to say, because Keith was smiling back. "Let's compromise with The Cure?" 

 

"Deal." 

 

 

When it was their turn to play pool against the winners of the first match -Hunk and Allura- no one cared enough to change the song, too engaged in the game. Keith smiled, and Lance wanted to see more of it. 

 

 

 

Towards the end of the night, Keith's number got added to the group text, and later that night, they were the last two awake, still messaging each other.

 

And if Lance listened to Six Different Ways until he fell asleep, well, no one would know. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> caramel lattes are my absolute FAVORITE, if you like coffee and caramel, you should try it. The blended ones (cold) are great too, but I love the hot lattes most   
> not that y'all care, but i loooooove earl gray and peppermint tea:) 
> 
> i read What If It's Us? in like 2 days bc i had to work


End file.
